Hibiscus
by starspangledpumpkin
Summary: Parvati is a lesbian, Lavender is bisexual. Warning: sad ending, i promises I have happier stories. For the Houses Competition.


**Word Count: 2788**

 **Prompt: Delicate Hands**

 **For the Houses Competition**

 **Themed: Romance (Tragic)**

 **Beta: Aya Diefair**

All her life, Parvati had had so many friends. She made them easily and they flocked around her charismatic aura. Everyone wanted to be her friend and she was always the center of attention. However, her best friend was always her sister Padma. The pair were inseparable.

So, when she came to Hogwarts, she was dismayed that she was put into Gryffindor and her sister put into Ravenclaw. They had shared everything and were now on opposite sides of the castle. You couldn't even see Ravenclaw Tower from Gryffindor Tower. She knew because Padma checked.

And then she met Lavender.

Lavender was honey-haired, warm-toned, and cherubic in face. Exactly the kind of person Parvati would make friends with. She didn't even have to worry about finding things in common, because as soon as Parvati put up a poster displaying the Weird Sisters...

"Oh, my God, I _love_ the Weird Sisters," she gushed. "Have you heard their cover of Love Potion No. 9? It is twenty times better than the original. I'm Lavender, by the way, Lavender Brown."

Parvati introduced herself, reached out, and accepted the girl's outstretched hand. They were so tiny and delicate as if they had never done any hard work in their life.

"Your hair is so pretty," she continued, touching a long strand of Parvati's hair. "You have to let me play with it sometime. I saved a copy of Witch Weekly with a special on hairstyles. Some of them would work for my hair but there is this one that would be _perfect_ for you!"

"Really?" said Parvati growing excited. "I'd love that! My sister never wants to do anything with her hair outside of a braid. I'm Parvati."

From that day on, their friendship grew. One was never seen without the other.

And there was something else about Parvati.

She was a lesbian.

As in… girls. No boys. The only boys she ever got crushes on were celebrities and even then… she just liked the idea of them but didn't gush over them the way Lavender did.

There was never a time in Parvati's life where she didn't like girls. But ever since she was five and declared she wanted to marry a little girl she met at the park, she had to hide. Mama sat her aside and told her that it was wrong for her to think about a little girl like that. Baba made it clear that one day she was to marry a nice boy either on her own… or by arrangement if necessary.

So, Parvati kept her thoughts to herself. Her feelings to herself. Padma never talked about it, but Parvati knew that her sister wouldn't abandon her just because she liked girls. There were sometimes, however, when she feared Padma would take their parents' views. This fear and anxiety increased as they got older.

And then there was Lavender.

Lavender, Lavender, Lavender.

Parvati told Lavender everything except that little tidbit that made up a huge part of her identity.

Every Friday night since school began, Lavender would sit behind Parvati and play with her hair complimenting her long, black tresses. Parvati would admire how Lavender's delicate hands could make teeny braids within seconds. She had grown accustomed to this tradition and would miss it over summer and winter holidays.

Their third year, Lavender and Parvati signed up for Divination together. They absolutely _loved_ the subject over everything else. Parvati knew that the world held deeper meanings than what was just on the surface. They loved it so much, they began to spend their lunch hour in the Divination Tower. It was warm, fragrant, and Professor Trelawney adored them both. She claimed they both showed talent for the Sight and said that they could even get a N.E.W.T. in the subject.

Things grew as complicated as ever by their fourth year.

She and Lavender were, once again, having lunch with Professor Trelawney. Today, she was showing them fire predictions. Parvati was slightly concerned her professor's draping robes would catch fire, but those fears were unfounded. Instead, replaced by new fear and uncertainty.

Professor Trelawney threw the bone powder onto the fire.

"Look into the flames," she said.

Parvati and Lavender stared into the heart, though the former found her eyes flicking to Lavender's face in the warm glow, alight with wonder. She smiled light and an image flickered in her eyes making her gasp.

"What did you see, my dear?"

"Uh… um… flowers," said Parvati. She grabbed a piece of blank parchment and snatched a quill resting in a half-empty jar of peacock blue ink. She scribbled out what she saw.

"That, my dear, is a hibiscus," said Professor Trelawney. "And the little flowers around it… hm… they could be violets. Now, a hibiscus is a symbol for delicate beauty. And the violets, you saw them as a wreath?"

"Yes, professor."

"Hmm… Ah, yes, I have a book on the meanings of flowers." The witch got to her feet and pushed aside a set of beaded curtains, paying no mind that one of the strands broke, spraying rainbow colored beads everywhere.

Parvati and Lavender exchanged glances as they heard a loud thud of many books falling.

"Are you alright, Professor?" Lavender called.

"Just fine, Miss Brown."

Professor Trelawney returned and gave Parvati two books, one of which was missing its jacket and the title was rubbed off with wear and tear. The first one was leather bound and bore the title _The Language of Flowers_.

"Take special care of those books, Miss Patil," said Professor Trelawney her normally mystic voice overlaid with sternness. "I should like to have them back when you have finished reading them. I marked a few pages where you could start. Now, my next class is about to start. Oh, and Miss Brown, I see that this vision is something that Miss Patil should solve for herself. The Sight does not always work in pairs."

"Yes, ma'am," said Lavender glumly.

That night, Parvati was unable to sleep. She hadn't looked at either book all day and wanted to ignore her vision for once in her life. But she couldn't. Her thoughts buzzed and chattered so loudly it was amazing her roommates couldn't hear them. Throwing back her covers, she grabbed the books from her trunk and went downstairs to the Common Room.

To her surprise, she saw Hermione Granger sitting on the floor picking at a lock with a pin. Hermione slowly looked up and, without saying a word, got up and went back upstairs to their dorm.

Not having the capacity to care about what the hell Hermione Granger does at three-in-the-morning, Parvati sat down in front of the fireplace and opened the book on found the page with a painting of a pink hibiscus.

 _Giving a hibiscus means that the giver is acknowledging the receiver's delicate beauty._

Parvati flipped to the end of the book and found the page on violets. Two words stuck out at her.

 _True Love_

A pit of anxiety opened up in Parvati's stomach. She set the book aside and opened up the untitled one.

 _"If you forget me, think_

 _of our gifts to Aphrodite_

 _and all the loveliness that we shared_

 _"all the violet tiaras,_

 _braided rosebuds, dill and_

 _crocus twined around your young neck_

 _"myrrh poured on your head_

 _and on soft mats girls with_

 _all that they most wished for beside them_

 _"while no voices chanted_

 _choruses without ours,_

 _no woodlot bloomed in spring without song..."_

All the other poems were like that.

Parvati leaned back against the couch and stared into the dying embers of the fire. She hoped her premonition was wrong. She couldn't deny the fact that she had fallen for Lavender. Her laugh, her hair, the little things she did every day.

If Lavender was going to die young… then shouldn't she, Parvati make her feelings known?

No.

It might ruin what time they had left.

Parvati didn't want to give that up.

That and she was too scared of what lay beyond a ruined friendship. Not only her parents' reaction but how everyone else would treat her. This may have been the nineties, but people still frowned upon same-sex couples. What if the repercussions were beyond ridicule and shaming? She hated having to hide who she was just because the world didn't agree.

But she did.

Lavender sat next to her at breakfast, giving her a side hug.

"Hey, Parv," she said cheerfully. "Didn't see you get up this morning. Did you figure out the prediction yet?"

"No," Parvati lied. "And I returned the books to Professor Trelawney already."

"Oh, that's too bad," Lavender sighed. "I wish I could've helped you."

"Well… I wrote bits of it down," said Parvati slipping into an all knowing tone. "Many predictions make themselves known to us in time."

"You are absolutely right!" said Lavender with a slight gasp.

Parvati's feelings didn't subside. Why was she cursed to pine for a straight girl? Did some higher being relish in the delight of her unrequited love?

They must have because Parvati felt it everyday.

Every.

Single.

Day.

She trudged through the advances of Seamus Finnegan and Lavender's disgustingly adorable relationship with Ron Weasley. Ron wasn't even that into Lavender, he was crazy about Hermione Granger! But Lavender couldn't or wouldn't see it. Frankly, Hermione couldn't see it either. Ron Weasley was not good at talking about his feelings but evidently that didn't matter because he was _such_ a good kisser.

Things changed their seventh year, after Dumbledore died and Snape took over. When Snape took over the school, he also allowed Voldemort to take over, thus instating two of the foulest people Parvati ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Nobody was safe from the Carrows. They weren't just blood-purists. They were racists as well. They crucio'd a Muslim girl who was just trying to do her midday prayer. They ridiculed Anthony Goldstein for wearing a yarmulke. They tried to take off a Sikh boy's turban and punished him for protesting the act. Parvati and Padma were on thin ice for being Hindus.

Everything changed whenever Dean Thomas came out as gay.

It was by accident of course. Whenever one of the Carrows, Amycus or Alecto, Parvati wasn't sure which was which made a comment about how it was against school policy for boys and girls to be snogging in the halls, he said: "Excellent, guess that excludes me."

He was now hiding out in the Room of Requirement. Neville single-handedly set it up as a safe-haven for people who needed to escape the hell they were being put through.

Dean was sitting off by himself, pretending not to hear the whispers. This subject was still taboo. People were of a different mindset. It was wrong, but it was their mindset.

Parvati steeled her nerves and sat across from him.

"Hey, Parv," he said. "Gonna insult me to my face?"

"No," she said. "I admire your bravery."

"Yeah?" he rested his elbows on his knees. "I never thought I'd come out like that. If I ever came out. It slipped out and I can't take it back."

Parvati was afraid of that, too. Once the words were uttered, they couldn't be taken back. After that she would only confirm rumors of her sexuality. She could only face judgement.

Fuck.

Why did life have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she have grown up with the acceptance of who she was? She accepted it! Why couldn't they?

"I'll still be your friend, Dean," said Lavender sitting beside Parvati. "It shouldn't matter who you love as long as you love."

"Is that really what you believe?" Parvati asked.

Lavender turned pink and turned her eyes to the ceiling. She gripped her hands together and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well…" she said. "Yes. I believe in love. Love is for everyone and, personally, I think I could love anyone."

"Just like that?" said Parvati incredulously.

Lavender turned her green eyes to Parvati and eyed her steadily.

"Would it be a problem if I liked both?"

"No," said Parvati shaking her head. "You just said the words like it wasn't a big deal."

"Bisexuality isn't a big deal!"

Parvati couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It isn't a big deal," she said. "But people _make_ it a big deal. What would your parents say?"

"I don't care!"

"But you do!"

"No, I don't!"

"How could you not?"

"Because I only need the acceptance from someone who loves me!"

"Well good, because I do accept you!" Parvati shouted. She clapped her hands over her mouth and her eyes widened.

"Oh, damn," said Dean Thomas, getting up and walking away.

The entire room stared at them, then pretended to mind their own business.

"I'm just gonna say this right now," said Neville. "This is a place of acceptance. If any of you have a problem with the way somebody is… find a new hiding place."

He tugged on his sleeves awkwardly and left to go do something rebellious. Last week he pasted a picture of Dumbledore on the Headmaster's chair. The week before he wrote _Dumbledore's Army Lives On_ over walls in each corridor.

Lavender grabbed Parvati's hand and dragged her over to a quieter corner.

"What did you just say?"

"That I accept you…"

"And… that you love me."

Parvati nodded slowly, wrapped her arms around her stomach, and stared down at her shoes. There. It was out. _She_ was out. It was done. She was still scared. But it was done.

"How long?" Lavender asked softly.

Parvati released a shuddering breath. "A while…"

"So you want to kiss me."

"Yes…"

"Oh, good!"

"Huh?" Parvati looked up in shock.

Lavender rested her soft hands on Parvati's cheeks and kissed her. Parvati had dreamed of those lips and they were softer than she could have imagined. She slowly melted into the kiss and nothing else existed. There was Lavender's soft lips, her softer hands, the smell of her berry scented shampoo, Lavender's waist between her hands.

"I hope I'm not dreaming," Parvati murmured when they parted. "I don't think I could handle that right now."

"If you are then I'm having the same dream," said Lavender, pressing their foreheads together.

"My parents won't approve."

"Will you let that stop you?"

"No."

Parvati decided to take a page out of Hermione's book and decided that her prophecy was rubbish. Sometimes Divination meant nothing. It was vague and had many meanings. Lavender was soft and delicate like a hibiscus symbolized.

"So… does this make us a couple now?" Parvati asked.

"I sure hope so," Lavender replied with a laugh. "I don't kiss just anyone."

Parvati lived in this small moment of happiness.

Three days later, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger showed up.

Everything after that was a blur. There was so much fighting and shouting. Walls crumbled, spells flashed blindingly this way and that.

"Lavender!" Parvati screamed looking for her newfound girlfriend amongst the chaos.

They tried to fight side-by-side for as long as they could, but a staircase crumbled leaving them apart. Parvati ran to another staircase casting spells at every Death Eater she saw.

 _"Flipendo! Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Diffendo! Diffendo! Diffendo!"_

She finally found Lavender.

Her heart stopped.

Kneeling over her was Fenrir Greyback. The werewolf looked over his shoulder at her, his unnaturally sharp teeth bared and covered in blood.

Shrieking in fury, Parvati fired spell after spell, storming towards him. She swiped her wand in the air like a sword shouting spell after spell. One broke through the barrier. A look of surprise crossed Greyback's face. He crumpled to the ground revealing Padma behind him, her wand raised. While her sister ran off to continue the battle, Parvati collapsed by Lavender's side.

Lavender was pale. She shuddered and whimpered feebly.

"It's okay, Lav," said Parvati softly, balling up the sleeve of her robe and pressing it against the deep bite mark in the space between Lavender's shoulder and neck. "You'll be okay. I'll get you help."

Though she was shivering violently, Lavender managed to raise her hand and caress Parvati's cheek. She, Parvati, gripped onto it tightly crushing her petal-soft fingers.

"K-keep loving," Lavender whispered between her gasping breaths. "Always l-love with- with all your h-heart."

"I want to love _you_ ," Parvati sobbed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "We just started, don't let it end!"

Lavender shuddered and went still, her eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling. Parvati held her tightly, releasing an anguished wail.

One day, she would learn to love again.

She would love someone as much as she loved Lavender. Love herself as much as Lavender loved herself. And accept herself as Lavender accepted her.


End file.
